Bad sounds are eminating from occupied Iraq. Someone fragged a couple GIs at a gas station, which we know about only because a photographer happened to see it go down, and another GI was smoked in a drive-by. But don't worry, because as Bush's banner said, "Mission Accomplished."

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, we opened fire on a crowd of unemployed ex-Iraqi army people who were protesting the state of Iraq, killing at least two. They were throwing rocks, apparently. The solders haven't even pretended that they were shot at, which to me calls to mind Kent State. Probably not such a good analogy what with the imperial occupation and language barrier, but still, it's the first time we've admitted to firing on protesters without claiming they shot first.

It's getting hotter and hotter in Iraq, and it would seem that hearts and minds are turning. Laying off 400,000 people with military experience might not have been the best idea. It's not this bad everywhere, but it does seem to be bad enough to ask again why we're doing this and what the plan is to remove our footprint from the region. Or maybe we're not going anywhere. There's already talk of perminant bases in Iraq... it makes one wonder if anyone in charge read any history earlier that WWII growing up.

On the other hand, there are still some real freaky radicals out there giving me hope and humor. These people are hillarious, mixing up Marxism, underground samizdat and hipster electroclash into a pop-art political gag frenzy. Entertaining.